Abu Ghraib: A Coverage Comparison

ABU GHRAIB - A Coverage Comparison & Analysis
CNN (Western Media) vs. al Jazeera

On Wednesday, April 28, 2004, a series of pictures broadcast on CBV “60 Minutes II” prompted an worldwide media frenzy that challenged America’s so-called moral superiority, complicated the fight against terror in the Middle East, crippled U.S. relations with the international community and elicited public demands for high-level accountability. The physical, psychological and sexual abuse, including torture, rape, sodomy and homicide of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq unveiled a sobering hypocrisy when juxtaposed with the American enemy, Saddam Hussein, and the abuses he authorized at the very same prison. The powerful photos were irrefutable evidence
Independent investigative reporting and diversified political analysis could have facilitated a broader cultural reevaluation of issues such as: America’s purpose in Iraq, the treatment of prisoners, torture’s place in American morality, gender roles in the military, the racial complexities associated with our presence in the Middle East, military hierarchies, accountability of leaders, mental and physical circumstances driving soldiers to torture.[13] CNN posed many of these larger questions during their coverage, however government officials were always given the final word in answering them or ignoring them altogether. The story broke and almost immediately, CNN acknowledged the scandal’s threat to the U.S. mission in Iraq and subsequently formulated their coverage into an “American story” that was mainly concerned with “the impact of the photos on support for the war effort and with the integrity of American intentions”.[14] The CNN byline that read, “The Fight for Iraq”, and the dramatic emotional interview with Charles Graner’s family after his sentencing in January of 2006 illustrates this shift in point of
As evidenced by the recent proliferation of Arabic language news stations and the American government’s uncharacteristic efforts to reach out to Arab media after the Abu Ghraib scandal, al Jazeera has become crucial in disseminating an American message to the Middle East. For this reason, both President Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld addressed the Arab world after the scandal broke. In a speech in May of 2004, Bush noted his “shock and disgust” and apologized for the “humiliation suffered by the Iraqi prisoners and the humiliation suffered by their families” (though never claiming responsibility).[21] Also, in a rare admission, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice admitted that the station’s coverage of the Iraqi elections and Lebanese protests over Rafik Hariri’s murder had aided the cause of reform.[22] Thus, though the bias exhibited by al Jazeera may not make sense in the Western context or help the American cause, it remains journalism at its core. Al Jazeera’s power is rooted in its ability to spark public debate about political reform in the Arab world, creating what could be “the most essential underpinning of a liberal democracy: a free and open critical public space, independent of the state, where citizens can speak their piece and expect to be heard”.[23] This revelation is fundamentally linked to the American goal